About this time of year all around the world, boys and girls of all ages begin making their Christmas lists. They think long and hard about what they want Jolly Ol' St. Nick to bring them under the tree or in their stockings. Some things come easy, some take more thought, but usually the list is full by the end of the process.
This year, Bills fans were treated to a 5-1 start, best since 1991 (a year in which we were also treated to our second straight Super Bowl appearance) and that super start has made the recent stretch where they have posted a 2-6 record even more pronounced and harder to bear.
What do Bills fans want for Christmas? What's on their Christmas list?
First and foremost, you'd have to think that since the season is technically still salvageable, Bills fans want to see four straight wins — another quarter of the season where they are 4-0. And a win streak going into the playoffs usually spells success in the postseason, as well. To defeat all three division opponents plus Denver out at Mile High would be tops for this Bills fan, and dare I say most Bills fans.
However, some are taking a different approach.
Dick Jauron is in his third season as Bills head coach, and it's really time to "put up or shut up," as they say. Jauron has only had one winning season in his career.
It was a very good season: 13-3. But up-close observers say it was also helped along quite a bit by fortunate bounces and other lucky breaks. That the team lost badly in its only playoff game that year and then tanked the next season would suggest the observers were right.
Now he has two 7-9 seasons with the Bills and has taken a 4-0 start and managed to go 6-6 by Week 13. What do those numbers mean for Jauron and his staff? I'd say they point toward an imminent coaching change.
I have been a big supporter of Dick Jauron. I really like his demeanor, even though most do not.
I like the way he has changed the attitude of this team from an arrogant, self-centered bunch of guys to a team-first, hard-working, high-character group of guys who love to play together, and are more like a family. I think that is important. And every report I hear is that the players love that, too.
But the question has become, is that enough? Unfortunately, I think, after the Cleveland game in which the coaching staff decided to run three straight plays up the middle to settle for a 47-yard field goal (which sailed eerily wide right). I realized what many have been trumpeting since Jauron was brought to Orchard Park in the first place: The man is just not a winning head coach.
Where do we go from here, then? Is it time to rebuild? Time to offer another unproven (or just plain losing) coach the reins once more? Is it time to start over again? In many ways, I don't think it is, but if I could make the ideal Christmas list, it might look something like this:
Ralph Wilson Sells the Team to Jim Kelly & Friends
We don't yet know who the funding source for Jim Kelly's bid to buy the Bills might be, but rumors persist that such a group exists. In fact, on Sunday Night Football a few weeks ago, Peter King mentioned that as though a plan were already in motion to make it so. Until that time, most reports had Wilson not selling the team until after he dies, so that would be a slight change.
To me, this is the key. The Bills have been around for nearly 50 years now, and most all of their head coaches have been second-level coaches. Almost never has a "big name" coach been brought in to run this team.
Why? Partly because of the "small market" deal, where Wilson insists we just don't bring in enough money. I'm sure that is true. But it must also be from the owner himself. It's been his philosophy. Spend as little as possible and hunt for the hidden gems. At times it works, but for the most part it has not.
If Wilson were to sell the team to Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Sabres owner Tom Golisano, and whomever else Jim can rustle up, the Bills might begin to take on a different shape.
Jim was not a conservative player. He was a gunslinger. He always trusted his arm to get him out of anything. He was hard-headed, tough-nosed, and a gutsy leader of this blue-collar team in a blue-collar town. I have to believe he would bring many of those qualities to his role as majority owner of the team.
Mike Holmgren
Nothing against Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon, but he's not a football GM. He is a business and marketing guy. And actually, he's done a very good job. The Bills' season ticket base is second-highest in team history. The team has successfully "regionalized" and is hoping to further that with the five-year Toronto Initiative. (First regular season game is this Sunday.)
But he's not a football guy.
Most know that Mike Holmgren, currently the Seattle Seahawks head coach (and executive VP of football operations i.e. general manager) is planning to retire from coaching at the end of this season. Another thing the Bills are sorely lacking at the moment is a good man at the top.
When Marv Levy decided to call it quits, the Bills lost their vision-caster. I'm not sure Marv was doing much more than just being Marv-elous around the players, coaches, and staff around One Bills Drive. He certainly had a hand in bringing in the talent that is on this team (and pulling out the weeds from previous administrations) but he was definitely not the full role of the typical NFL general manager.
Perhaps Holmgren, a well-respected, longtime student of the game, would be willing to "retire" to a similar role with the Buffalo Bills? There is already a nucleus of talent. With a knowledge of the game, and of the league, and a track record of winning, it would make sense that he could do it again in Buffalo.
Look at what Bill Parcells has done for Miami in just one season. Perhaps Mike Holmgren could do something similar here with the Bills.
2 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Matt James 7 months ago
I just wish I could get a refund on my NFL and NHL package from DirectTV!
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Greg Campbell 7 months ago
Yeah. Pretty tough season to swallow. Losing to the 9ers and Browns... had we won those games we should have won, we're still 8-4. Crazy...
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